Sexual assaults in Bermuda have more than doubled in the second quarter of the year with an increase in hotel and guest house burglaries, although crime overall is down.The latest figures issued by the Bermuda Police Service (BPS) show a 10.7 percent drop in total crimes, an 8.9 percent decrease when compared to the same period last year.The total of 1,038 offences recorded between April and June represents the third lowest quarterly figure in 12 years, and the second lowest since 2007.But sexual assaults more than doubled. In the first quarter there were four such assaults recorded, in the second quarter there were nine. Burglaries at local hotel and guest houses jumped from one in the first quarter up to seven, while burglaries at homes and businesses went down during the same period.And while firearms offences dropped from 16 in the first quarter down to four in the second quarter, other weapons offences increased slightly from 13 up to 15.Anti-social behaviour and disorder offences continue to rise to a total of 151 incidents as opposed to 137 in the first quarter. Disorder offences increased from 24 to 29 during the same time frame.Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Wright said: “Despite increased police enforcement, despite new legislation, despite harsh penalties and despite more community empowerment, there continues to be an element in our society that is intent on criminality.“That can be seen in the police report for the Cup Match period. The ‘usual suspects’ unsurprisingly featured in a few incidents, all of which were promptly attended by police and most of which have ended in charges being laid or arrests being made,” he said.“There remains a relatively small number of young people who regularly create trouble — or at least the potential for trouble almost everywhere they go. It is clear to us that the rest of Bermuda is losing patience with this group and keeping a close eye on their activities or even excluding them from some events and locations.“The BPS will continue to place its focus on those who present the greatest threat. The aim is to try to influence them to behave better or face the consequences if they do not.“Today’s crime figures suggest that, together, we are making a clear difference.”Mr Wright added: “The second quarter of 2012 recorded four confirmed firearm reports of which two separate shooting incidents resulted in the tragic murder of Joshua Robinson on June 23 and the wounding of Richard Steede on May 22.”Police recovered four illegal firearms including imitation guns in the second quarter with “two recoveries of ammunition”. The 44 percent reduction in firearms incidents is also the lowest is has been in the last three years.Since the first quarter in 2009, 74 people have been shot, 18 of which were fatal. To date there have been 25 convictions with another 19 awaiting trial, which amounts to a 70 percent conviction rate for gun crime in Bermuda.Responding to questions by The Royal Gazette, Mr Wright confirmed there has also been an increase in the use of fake guns to commit crime. “We are concerned that not just the proliferation in firearms incidents since 2009, which has been well reported, we’re also concerned with an increase in the number of toy guns and imitation firearms that we’re seeing as well.”He also warned that in confrontations, police have no way to tell whether a gun is real or fake. “If you’re in possession of a firearm and you point it at a police officer they will do what they are trained to do which is to neutralise the threat posed by you,” said Mr Wright.“If anybody out there has thoughts about carrying an imitation firearm you need to set that aside, you’re putting yourself and the people around you at risk. It doesn’t help you it actually makes you more vulnerable.”He was also asked about the sharp decrease in the number of “stop and search” operations by the police. There were 1,127 stop and searches carried out, a decrease of 42.5 percent or 833 searches compared to the first quarter.The drop is even steeper when compared to the same period last year when there were 5,310 in the second quarter of 2011, a decrease of 82.5 percent. Mr Wright explained that “as the number of firearms incidents rose exponentially, BPS took robust action to disrupt that activity to create uncertainty on the street when a person would be stopped and searched”.“But as the number of firearms incidents have fallen by 44 percent it’s proportionate that you’re going to see a reduction in the number of stop and searches that are done, as we gain some traction against gun crime,” said Mr Wright.Crimes against the person fell below the average for the last 12 months and decreased by 8.6 percent over the previous quarter. But crimes against the community recorded eight more offences than the total recorded in the first quarter and represents a 12 percent reduction over the previous year.The most notable decrease was recorded in residential burglaries which fell by 23 percent as crimes against property fell below the average of the previous year and decreased by 15 percent over the previous quarter.Total drug seizures for the second quarter increased by 11 percent but are below average for the previous year. Last year’s “unusual seizure of $52 million worth of drugs pushed the average up significantly,” said Mr Wright.“The primary seizures were made at the borders by the Department of Customs and totaled over $3 million. Another $200,000 worth was seized from the street or interdicted en route to Bermuda.“The total drug seizures for the year to date are valued at $5.1 million,” he said. A total of 107 seizures, the majority, were made on the street with 51 seizures of illegal drugs made at Bermuda's ports of entry and another three overseas seizures recorded that involved overseas law enforcement agencies.Police seized a total of 49.6kg of controlled drugs with an estimated street value of $3.2 million. Marijuana topped the list — 44kg seized with an estimated street value of $2.2 million, 3.9kg of cocaine was seized, valued at just under a million.The value of drugs seized in the second quarter increased to $3.2 million, compared with the $1.9 million recorded in the first quarter of this year.Mr Wright concluded: “The long term trend for crime continues to be decreasing, notwithstanding the fact that our community continues to be hit by acts of disturbing violence.”